The second book in the Young Adult Reckoners series by Brandon Sanderson moves the action from a futuristic Chicago (Newcago) to a futuristic, dystopian Manhattan (New Babylon). I loved this second book and I found New Babylon (also called Babilar) to be very interesting, but part of what I loved about the first book, Steelheart, was the setting: a city that had been completely morphed into steel, and I missed that setting in Firefight. Not that I didn’t love Babilar, I just love Newcago more.

The action of the second book, Firefight, is just as fast and heart-pounding as in the first book. The stakes get higher, and we discover more about the world and Epics (the bad guys), in general.

Like the first book, Firefight is 75% action, 20% romance, and 5% bad metaphors (which are often hilarious). That isn’t an exact breakdown, so don’t quote me on it. The main point is that this book is mostly the kind of action you would see in a Marvel movie.

In case you missed it, I posted a review of the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s Reckoners Series, Steelheart, last Saturday. I picked up Book 2, Firefight, and began reading but kept coming across this mention of a battle with Mitosis, which sounded familiar, so I checked, and sure enough, Mitosis is a standalone story that falls between Steelheart and Firefight.

Mitosis was fairly short and I finished reading it in under an hour. It was a good piece of action between the two main novels. I wouldn’t say it’s a must read. I think one could just go from Steelheart to Firefight and not feel like they’re missing much, but it did add a nice bit of backstory during the passage of time between Steelheart and Firefight, which is a few months.

If you’re a Sanderson fan, or just need to read every piece of lore in a universe, then you probably won’t want to skip Mitosis.

I have that wonderful spring feeling again! Yesterday it was 7 above, things were melting, and I went out for a walk in weather was finally incapable of freezing me to death in hours. I had books on my mind (of course), and thought, you know, that my upcoming reads would probably like to get some fresh air too, so I decided to do a little book photo shoot for your enjoyment. Featured books are ones I’m currently reading or am hoping to get to soon. But, of course, there’s never enough time for reading.

My current “On the Go” Read, What Light by Jay AsherAir Awakens by Elise KovaHiding the Star Touched Queen by Roshani ChokshiA Torch Against The Night by Sabaa TahirReading On The Go, From Great HeightsA Reader’s Self-Portrait

This is the last book in the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. As you’ll see in my review below, I didn’t like Extras as much as I enjoyed Uglies. It wasn’t a true continuation of the series, but contained new characters in a new place in the same world. Also, this handwritten review contains an awesome coffee stain. Lol.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you know that I’m a fan of Sarah J. Maas and the Throne of Glass Series. After reading The Assassin’s Blade, I feel like I have a better background to those years Caleana spent in Rifthold. I love Rifthold, it is one of my favourite parts of the TOG world. To me, it is a magical Victorian kind of place with a seedy underbelly. I mean, who wouldn’t love that?

My favourite book in the series is still Crown of Midnight, The Assassin’s Blade didn’t change that for me. Nor was it a true stand in for the last book in the series, which is currently slated for a 2018 release. As I blogged the other week, the next book in the Throne of Glass Series is the Untitled Chaol book, which I’m excited for, and is due out in September. The Assassin’s Blade was released between Crown of Midnight and Queen of Shadows, but I didn’t read it until after I read Empire of Storms. If you aren’t that far in the series yet, I would recommend reading The Assassin’s Blade before Empire of Storms, because I think it would have added something to Empire for me. I also read the Maas is recommending that The Assassin’s Blade be read before the Chaol book too, so if you aren’t caught up in the TOG series, you have from now until September to do so. And I highly recommend it as a witty, fast paced fantasy series.

For the past week I’ve been consuming Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow. As you can see from the picture below, I’ve had this book on my Kobo since the fall, and finally had the pleasure of reading it. When I began, I felt the heavy, serious weight of this book and its subject matter. It was, at times, especially in the beginning, incredibly depressing. But I don’t mind reading depressing books every so often. I might have inherited that from my mother, who reads depressing books all the time. I like to bug her about this, since most of the time I like uplifting and escapist books (hence my other recent read, Moonlight Over Paris).

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

I loved the character of Charlie, I loved the setting in Tuscon, because it felt fresh and different and sunny. Also, I’ve been to Tuscon, so to met it was familiar. The pacing was excellent. There were plenty of short little scenes, connected one to the other. There were no chapters, just these small breaks that kept me reading and reading and reading. I actually finished reading this book in the middle of the night because I couldn’t sleep, and then I couldn’t put it down. It was a nice contrast to the other books I’ve read this year. And a good break from all my fantasy reading. Obviously I like a variety, and this piece of realistic YA fiction was a great piece of life.

There were a few characters that did seem to just disappear though, who I thought should have made a few more appearances. But maybe they didn’t because this book was already pretty long (especially since it was realistic fiction and not epic fantasy, lol). There was a fairly large cast of characters, but I never felt overwhelmed. The true charm in this book were those relationships between the characters, who were fluid and true. So, if you like fluid and true books that are slightly depressing and have faint themes about life, then pick up this books. It’s good.

Since I heard about the release of The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher, I was excited to read it. I put the book on my Christmas List and was pleased to find it under the tree, though it came with the depressing news that Carrie Fisher had suffered a heart attack on her flight home for the holidays. I consumed this book in three days, eating chocolate and drinking coffee and enjoyed it immensely, especially the bits where Fisher describes her interactions with fans.

It became a bittersweet read when Fisher’s death was announced, and came the realization that I would never again read a wittily written account of some piece of her life that she treated with respect and humor, all in her own unique way. I so wish that things had taken a different direction, that she had survived, or never been subjected to, her heart attack so that I, and the world, would be able to read more of her work, watch more of her movies, and just enjoy her on this Earth. But I’m thinking that she’s in a better place now.

There was a lot of controversy when The Princess Diarist came out, as Fisher spent a lot of time discussing the affair she had with Harrison Ford during the filming of Star Wars in London 1976. The first and last thirds of the books are Fisher’s narration, with the middle third containing excerpts from her journals written in 1976. The way Fisher described that first love, that agonizing nowhereness of an affair, felt both raw and true and I felt like I could relate.

If you’re a Star Wars fan or a Carrie Fisher fan, or like reading other people’s journals, then this book is for you.